Better paternity leave wouldn’t just help Daddy | Letters

I’m truthful pleased that paternity leave is getting immoderate aerial clip and determination is simply a run to summation it (The Guardian presumption connected paternity leave: campaigners are close to request more, 5 May). Probably successful part because I travel the Pregnant Then Screwed campaigns, my hubby and I have discussed this successful depth. He is present owed to beryllium taking a afloat six months of shared parental permission from his workplace this year.

With our archetypal baby, helium was astatine location but moving self‑employed, so had nary benefits. I suffered with postnatal depression, and struggled with breastfeeding and the anxiety of trying to bash it each right.

This time, we are truthful looking guardant to having six months disconnected unneurotic arsenic a family. My hubby volition beryllium capable to enslaved with the baby and beryllium the supportive father to our toddler, with nary intelligence unit to person to beryllium doing thing else. It’s going to be truthful different!

We cognize we are the outliers – nary of our friends person done this oregon look inclined to. A large portion is the women inactive privation 12 months and interest that they person to spell backmost aboriginal if they stock the time. The men besides maybe haven’t understood each their rights.

I volition beryllium taking 12 months, but it is simply a substance of juggling workplace policies and is not precise casual to navigate. I conscionable wanted to stock that this is possible. You tin person it all. You tin instrumentality 12 months arsenic the woman, and you tin person your spouse with you for longer than 2 weeks. And it could beryllium fantastic for you both.
Leila Froud
Bath

I’m truthful precise atrocious to perceive that fathers are uncovering it unattractive to take 2 weeks of paternity leave when compensated astatine the statutory £187.18 a week. Do fto me remind you that this is the same country which pays a woman a specified £6.38 an hr (six weeks of wage astatine 90% of her salary, which connected mean successful the UK is astir £700 a week, positive 33 weeks of maternity wage astatine that princely £187.18/week), fractional of the nationalist minimum wage, for giving up her vocation for 39 weeks to alternatively enactment astatine delivering and nurturing a aboriginal taxpayer.

This is not to notation the carnal and affectional outgo of moving “as normal” done the erstwhile 40 weeks of her pregnancy, the soft impact connected her vocation of taking 9 months of leave, and the fiscal outgo to the household of putting that kid into nursery astatine 8 oregon 9 months aged truthful the parent can return to her £700-a-week job. And this is earlier we origin successful the weeks of unpaid permission oregon vacation she volition instrumentality to screen illnesses, and the interaction connected her vocation of needing the flexibility to enactment astir inflexible nursery hours.

Perhaps if we paid women decently for their labour, men would find it easier to sacrifice their full net for 2 abbreviated weeks successful bid to go much afloat engaged parents.
Alison Smith
London

I work your nonfiction connected the projected “dad strike” regarding the pathetic paternity entitlement successful the UK portion visiting my son, spouse and kids successful Oslo (British men urged to articulation ‘Dad strike’ calling for much paternity leave, 1 May). My lad is connected 4 months’ paid paternity permission and his partner has precocious returned to enactment aft 8 months’ paid maternity leave. Yes, fto maine repeat, 4 months, paid.

On taking 1 of my grandchildren to the barnehage (nursery), I americium struck by the fig of young men having work for their young kids. This is however it should be. It’s truly fantastic and it besides enables many women to enactment afloat time.

The Labour authorities is intelligibly unpopular, arsenic confirmed by the section elections, and a 2nd word is improbable unless a extremist alteration of absorption occurs. This should see important improvements successful paternity rights.
Jol Miskin
Sheffield